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01 – On Photography (it’s not rocket science)

Welcome to the 1st lesson in this introduction to photography class. Before jumping in the deep end and discussing the nuts and bolts of photography, let’s take a step back.

Technically, photography is an easy subject to master. There are lots of subtleties, of course, but as we will see in the next few weeks, the basics are straightforward. Of course, it will require a fair amount of practice and experimenting on your part to really internalize what you have learned, but taking sharp, well exposed images is not very difficult.

On the other hand, photography is art. Creating an image that follows your personal vision is a much, much harder task. This is not something that can be transmitted by someone else or learned from a book or a webpage. There is no shortcut, you will have to go through this process yourself. The best I can do, and this is what we will be attempting in this course, is to give you the tools to turn this vision into a concrete image you can share with others. We will do this by progressively moving away from the automated modes of the camera, putting you, the photographer, in charge.

One more thing about auto modes: there is no shame in using them. Sometimes, they are the right choice for what you want to do. All I really want is for you to have the option not to use them and to really understand what they do and when they are useful. Again, it’s all about having the right tool for your purpose.

Gear is important, and having the right camera or lens can sometimes make all the difference, but it is far too easy to mistake the tree for the forest. Buying better equipment will not make you a better photographer, it will merely enable you to shoot in more conditions. If you are not satisfied with your pictures, there are very good chances the problem is you, not your camera. In particular, any DSLR will do the job more than adequately, and, with a few exceptions, only pro shooters will really benefit from upgrading to more expensive bodies. If you have a DSLR, a micro-4/3 or an advanced compact camera (easy test: does it have P,A,S,M along with the usual scene modes?), then you will be all set. Try to resist the temptation to buy more gear and get to really know what you already own.

Finally, let’s remember to have fun. Photography is amazing but, like any art form, it can also be very frustrating. The worst thing that could happen to you would be to try too hard, burn out and start believing that “serious” photography is too hard. It’s not, it’s just that you are forgetting to enjoy yourself. So, to avoid this, here is the most important instruction I can possibly give you: if at any point you realize that you are bored or frustrated, give yourself a break. Shoot for fun, in auto mode, and rediscover the simple joy of creating pictures. Or don’t shoot at all for a while. Stop thinking about photography and come back when you are ready. It’s perfectly ok, I do it all the time and so do most professional photographers. They wouldn’t last very long otherwise.

Assignment

Since we haven’t really started yet, let’s have a fun assignment. It shouldn’t take too long, and everyone who has ever taken a photo can participate. There are three parts:

First, I want you to go dig in your archives and post the favourite photo you ever took. There is no criterion of subject or camera, simply post the one that makes you proudest. Either upload it to imgur or to flickr, but please make sure it is reasonably big (900×750 pixels is a good default size). If you have trouble with the upload, ask in the comments.

Next to the link to the image, please write a small paragraph explaining, in your own words, why you like it. It doesn’t have to be complicated or fancy, just try to put into words what it is you think make this image interesting to look at. Something like “I think this works well because it shows the energy of the climber and how tenuous his position is. His expression also shows it is a difficult route.” would be perfect.

The final part is to go look at someone else’s image and leave some feedback. It needs to be constructive, so comments like “this sucks” or “this is great” won’t be acceptable. “This sucks because it is underexposed” or “this is great because it shows perspective” is much better. It is perfectly ok not to like a picture, but rude comments will be deleted without warning.

536 Comments

There are several pictures I have that I like. this one in particular is one that I actually set up with a tripod and attempted to get a shot. One of the first, anyways. It’s on my way to and from work, and it’s always astounded me how even in the suburbs in New York, the city commands attention.

I was watching this herd o mountain goats for a while taking photos, and looked over to my left and saw this guy watching me. I used a telephoto lens, braced against my knees. http://www.flickr.com/photos/kr_is_…

This was one of the first shots I took that made me feel really proud and also really lucky. It’s far from perfect but for a hand-held panning shot taken in low-light, I really like it. http://www.flickr.com/photos/overse…

@Kristin, I really like your goat shot! Lovely DoF and great colour too. I like the slate sky and the creamy tones. Well done 🙂

I really like this image because of the color of the parrots and the shallow DOF. This was back when I was still shooting in full auto and JPEG, but I think it turned out alright.http://www.flickr.com/photos/311074…

Here is a picture I like very much, I love the contrast of the mill silhouette against the sky and the reflections on water perfectly give a sense of continuity between sky and earth: http://www.flickr.com/photos/seiji1…
@Tom your picture is amazing!! Nice moving effect given by the light traces on the background! 🙂

I took this picture at the tour down under. It’s one of my favorite because I took it shortly after buying my camera and I was taking the opportunity to practice tracking shots. It was one of the better timed photos and I think conveys the speed, intensity, and the proximity between the cars and cyclists quite well.

I love this photo I took in Varanassi, India. I was lucky enough to capture birds flying in the sky over a beautiful sunrise, and I think the silhouette of the meditating man is very striking. http://www.flickr.com/photos/jemini…
@TomE – your photo is incredible! The motion is perfectly illustrated and you did a wonderful job keeping the pedicab in focus.

I took it in London last year, from the London Eye. I like the contrast of the sky (typical London sunny/couly day!). I also like the energy of the image; for me I’m always looking at the sun first, then at the flag. Right to left, same direction as the wind in this picture.

I just wandered over here from reddit- Looks like there’s lots to learn! http://i.imgur.com/z3jUp.jpg
is among my favorites- New Orleans is one of my favorite places. @si-photos – that picture it beautiful- I really like the reflection and composition.

The reason I like it so much is that not only do I enjoy the colors, subject and lighting, I enjoy how everything lined up. I was not intentionally looking for there to be any rhyme or reason to the way things laid out to/for me but I find it interesting that the grain of the wood is lined up with the bed and then the exaggerated points of my dog’s paw and the corner of the bed.

@David – I enjoy seeing the contrast of nature with the homes in the background. Also the way that you captured the sky and the fullness of color from the grass/crops itself.

This is my absolute favourite photo I’ve taken so far. I got a digital Polaroid camera from some British relatives I was visiting for my birthday and this shot was taken on that day. Crappy camera especially by today’s standards but this shot made me love photography. https://picasaweb.google.com/106859…

On my lappy, I don’t have my entire collection however this is by far my favorite, I love taking pictures of the sky. This was taken in Penang, Malaysia and I remember asking the cab driver to quickly pull over so I could take some photos of the rain system as it was about to occur.

I suppose what draws me to this photo is the contrast in colours, and in the distance you can actually see rain in the other part of town.

http://flic.kr/p/8emKzt
Hi, I’m new here. I found these silly donkeys while on a bike ride in Belgium and found their curiosity intriguing, especially their faces. To me this scene is so typically Belgian: farmhouse, animals, and red poppies along the bike paths.

@overseastom Your image makes me feel like I’m passing by going the other way, similar to how I’d feel if I was passing on my bike.

@Roby I like how the use of the beach, sky, ocean, and plants help frame the picture, like what I’d want to see out the window. I like the simplicity of your photo.

I got so excited about this lesson that I decided to start my own blog instead uploading just one favourite picture. I have made couple posts so far. They are written in finnish, but just check the pics.

Well I’m kinda late to the party, but better late than never?!
I took this picture with a cheap point and shoot. What I like about this picture is the fact that an hour before hand, and pretty much all day it had been raining and quite windy. About 45 minutes before sunset it cleared up a bit, I grabbed the camera, and this shot greeted me. It was reminiscent of a dreamscape to me, the sky was definitely painted on… http://www.flickr.com/photos/529968…

I had just gotten my 50mm f1/4 lens – and this shot came out really nice. I think what worked really well in this shot is the natural light hitting her face. To be quite honest, I’ve been chasing for more shots like this ever since that day. Sometimes I am successful – but most the time I miss. Nailing shots with a wide aperture is challenging.

Not my favorite photo ever (that is an old 3×5 film photo that I took, which I don’t have a digital copy of) but my two favorite photos taken with my new camera in the past 3 days. I like the building photo because of the vivid colors, contrast with the dark evening sky, and the natural vignetting in the sky. I like the face photo because of the even lighting on my friend’s face (the indian guy), and because his eyes are striking in this photo. http://imgur.com/a/QXiiO

@mo I like the photo, but I think the milk on Maya’s face is distracting. Her eyes are captured very well though.

I’m a little late to the party as well. I decided that I would upload my pictures to a blog and then continue using the blog so I could have a timeline and something against which to measure my progress. So, here it is. http://expeditionaryblog.tumblr.com…

@Daven- I really love your picture. It’s humorous and cute, and I think the eyes on the middle one really portray the silliness of the animal. I also love the coloring on the animals.

This picture is out of a bunch I’ve taken just messing with my camera on auto settings while out on day hikes. I like this one because the Royal Arch makes a nice frame for the subject of the picture which is one of the flatirons (#3 I think). Most my other pictures in the album are pretty washed out so I’m following these classes to see if I can figure out how to get sharp pictures even in bright sunlight. The best pics in the album are taken from a vantage point where I was in the shade. All the very washed out ones were taken where I was standing in direct sunlight.

This picture is out of a bunch I’ve taken just messing with my camera on auto settings while out on day hikes. I like this one because the Royal Arch makes a nice frame for the subject of the picture which is one of the flatirons (#3 I think). Most my other pictures in the album are pretty washed out so I’m following these classes to see if I can figure out how to get sharp pictures even in bright sunlight. The best pics in the album are taken from a vantage point where I was in the shade. All the very washed out ones were taken where I was standing in direct sunlight.

I had only had my new camera for a few months and this was the first picture that made me go wow this is actually good. I’m still learning but seeing pictures that come out like this really gives me hope for being half good at it. I haven’t got to the stage of Photoshopping yet, but I secretly hope I never do, there is something quite pure about nature as it is meant to be, but maybe from a different slant. That is what I like about this picture.

It’s a photo I took a long time ago when I was just starting out but its the one I can always vividly remember whenever someone asks me about my favourite picture. I think its because of the really shallow depth of field that makes it look more like a painting than a photo that does it for me.

This is one of my favorites that I just took recently.http://imgur.com/CUHkC
I like macro shots, but didn’t think my advanced compact would let me do manual focus that close.
When I found the manual focus, I was happy to get this shot as I wanted to capture the water drops, the leaves and the spider webs.
While the front leaves are slightly out of focus, the middle leaves with rain and the webs with the rain drops on them are what made the shot for me.

I’m a young photographer and I think this is one of my best. http://i.imgur.com/TvooC.jpg?1 everyone seems to like it and I like how I framed the picture. I like macro a lot so this was a good break from that.

This is one of my favourites. The diffuse light through a thunderstorm makes a nice backdrop for a formidable subject. I say formidable because he and I had a brief showdown shortly after taking this photo. (He won!)

This is one of my favorite pics. I took this one at an el stop in Chicago in April of last year. The first link is the color version: http://i.imgur.com/Iso6c.jpg
The second link is the BW version: http://i.imgur.com/DbxMO.jpg While I think both images tell the beginning of a story with the rest left to the viewer, I like the BW one better because it seems to leave more to the imagination.

This is one of my favorite shots. I took this out of the window of a moving car, heading east along I-90 to visit my daughter. Something about the orange light from sunrise hitting the snow just felt so awesome.

For #47 – I like the depth of field, and the dense greenery. There’s a lot of activity in the photo, even though it’s a stationary object.

It was one of the first photos I’ve taken with my T3i. Why not your pet as a subject, right? I wanted to capture it at her level and do it in portrait style, and I felt that her posture at the time made for a nice situation.

I like this picture because, The way the photo was taken the lighting is good for the white car but also makes a nice sunset look in the back, while still bringing the car to the foreground.http://www.flickr.com/photos/jkauto…

I like this photo because it was not planned, and it shows that. My wife is waiting for me to come and stand next to her, so it shows her arm resting on her hip, and I am running over to her. I like candid shots. I also like the ways it is framed.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/924927…
I’m proud of this photo because it seems to tell a story, the girl in the foreground is looking in the distance at the saturated landscape. The pastel-like colors look almost like a painting and are exaggerated in the way colors are in memories. The framing feels fairly symmetrical, which is also something I aimed for, this adds to the painting feel of it.

I like this photo because I feel the many branches give a sense of chaos and evoke feelings of loss and disharmony, I feel it represents my thoughts all too often in my life. http://500px.com/photo/25080443

I do like your tree branch photo! The way the colour moves from black to almost look like the branches have been whitewashed is really effective. The framing draws you down the tunnel in the centre but there’s always the fear that the twigs will reach out and get tangled in your hair. Very creepy.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/409454…
I took this one yesterday when I found a blooming pear tree in the back yard. I think it is beautiful because that one bloom being in focus and the sun in the background.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/409454…
I took this one yesterday when I found a blooming pear tree in the back yard. I think it is beautiful because that one bloom being in focus and the sun in the background.

@gretchen I love this photo! I love the lines and the subject matter. My favorite photo is one I’ve recently taken. I’ve really gotten into toy photography and I collect these toys called funko pops I love the layers of this photo with the mini Oreos in the foreground. I also really like the colors. http://i.imgur.com/Dm41K4z.jpg

I love this picture because I took it during the occupy wall street protest and Chad was clearly there for a safe place to sleep and eat. I sat with him and listened and he didn’t trust me and we developed a rapport. It’s not a technically wonderful photo and I wish his face was more in focus instead of his shirt but it was the first time I’d used this camera and it felt like I got some of his essence in the picture.

This is my favorite photo i have ever taken. i had been interested in photography for about 6 months when i took this. i learned by just playing around and taking pictures. i was at the Wild Animal Park in San Diego shooting animals (my favorite thing to shoot). i saw this guys face and i sat in front of the glass and waited for about an hour and half waiting for this big guy to turn his head ever so slightly to get the sunlight just right. i think it paid off, i would love to hear your feedback.
-Zach

I really like this photo. the depth of field you achieved with Chad being in focus and the tents out of focus really jumped out at me. It help to show the contrast of the smile on Chad’s and the tent of the Occupy Wall Street Movement behind him. Great job.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/635212…
This photo was taken on a recent vacation to the Bruce Peninsula. It really captures the beauty of Ada as well as her happiness with being able to run around and play in the water.

@ZachGold I really like this photo. The orangutan face has always been fascinating to me; it’s so oddly shaped, and you captured it well!

@Meagan I really like this photo because I feel like it’s the sun that’s the subject not the flower. The flower is a vehicle used to express the beauty of the sun.

http://i.imgur.com/k3XIm05.jpg
I took this photo of my friend (the man in the center of the spotlight) at a fencing tournament in San Francisco, and it just so happens that the other man in the spotlight is the opponent he’s about to duke it out with. I love this photo because of how dramatic it is.

This picture was taken at the great ocean road in Australia. I like it because it makes me feel like I’m back there again. I’m not sure otherwise how to describe it. It was point and shoot on auto mode.

I took this photo of Queenstown, in New Zealand. I love this photo because I feel that it captures the scenery really well, and I feel that it really does the view justice.http://www.flickr.com/photos/833520…

@Sid I really like the way the light reflects on the water? on the walls in the tunnel and portrays the griminess of the tunnel and gives a gritty, everyday quality to the picture while retaining an artisitic sensibility in black and white.

This is my picture. It was taken on a point and shoot on an bright winter day. I like the square aspect ratio and the way that the streetlight fades into the sky having a cold, wintry effect. I also like how the power lines cut across the picture.

@Sid I really like the way the light reflects on the water? on the walls in the tunnel and portrays the griminess of the tunnel and gives a gritty, everyday quality to the picture while retaining an artisitic sensibility in black and white.

This is my picture: http://imgur.com/Rx37nnA
It was taken on a point and shoot on an bright winter day. I like the square aspect ratio and the way that the streetlight fades into the sky having a cold, wintry effect. I also like how the power lines cut across the picture.

@dharinic, I really like the branches and power line in the background. I was somewhat confused as to what the streetlight was at first, possibly could’ve been composed slightly differently to show that better. But overall cool photo!

Took this picture a couple of weeks ago at my kids school. Subjects are his teacher (right) and a student teacher that was in their classroom for a month. I used a 50mm prime (75mm equiv.) on a Sony A200 body. I got really lucky with the lighting! It was mid-morning and we were in the shade with the sun to my left. I got good, diffuse light reflected down from the beige stucco building behind me and up from the concrete sidewalk we were standing on.

While on a school field trip. I took this photo by chance, I am just a beginner and sometimes what I think I see and what actually comes out are two completely different things.http://deannachristensen.imgur.com/…

I’m not sure how many people are still going to be looking at this in the future, but I’m so glad I found it! 🙂
#37 @mo….I love this picture! I think the little girl looks so precious, and I love the wide aperture. I love the colors too. 🙂 It’s just so sweet.
Here’s probably my favorite picture I’ve taken so far. I was taking newborn pictures for a friend, and I’d never tried it before. But we got him to fall asleep in the basket, and it all seemed to work pretty well from there. I know it’s not a wonderful photo, but I feel like it’s one of the best ones I’ve taken so far. http://www.flickr.com/photos/100008…

I love how the lighting made it so that the building had a blue tint that goes with the background so well. This is what really took this shot to the next level, IMO! I also like the angle you took the shot from to get all the lines converging together. Nice work!

Despite being taken with a point and shoot back in 2002, I thought this one was cool because I saw the framing in a city park and thought it would be cool to frame each person I was traveling with like they were an action figure. I had everyone climb up in the shot and do a pose. That concept wouldn’t have worked so well without the impromptu framing provided by the park shelter. I also liked that the symmetry of the shrubs above makes them almost look like toys or LEGO and enhances the idea of this being a shot of toys or figurines. This went well with the nature of the trip which was a bunch of friends studying abroad together and having an adventure.

From the same trip and still the outdated camera. However, I liked that I captured both an adult and juvenile in the same picture. I also got a straight on shot of one while the younger was in profile. Including the bit of road in the picture gives this shot a sense of place in that it reminds me that we saw these grazing right on the side of the highway outside of a town in Ireland. Coming from Texas, the land of the Longhorn, this was a cool connection to my home but with an Irish twist.

I like this photo mainly because of the subject, my daughter, who (along with future children) is the main inspiration for me wanting to learn more about photography. I caught her with a dreamy smile on her face. I also like the golden light and background blur from the sunset behind her.http://i.imgur.com/9vWQCLd.jpg

I took this photo on a short weekend trip to Melbourne. I like the simplicity of the image and reflects the solitude of the park as I walked through it. I really enjoy black and white photography as I think it focuses the eye more on the different textures in the image rather the colours.

This is one of my favorites – my sister-in-law and niece dancing. This was one of multiple exposures over a couple of seconds, some of which are sharper.. However, I like how the softer focus gives the impression of movement and reinforces the feeling of joy and “not-a-care-in-the-world” of the moment.

Great framing and image composition (at least I think so) but the focus is off. The clearest part of the photo is the back of your niece’s dress, when I think it would be better to have both their faces in focus. Other than that, perfect candid capture and composition! Nice work!

I tried for a while to get a shot of this fisherman where the net was fully open. I am pleased with this one particularly because of the reflections in the water. The shoreline in the background interferes a little, but there was nothing I could do about that in the time.

I like this picture due to the different layers present in the picture. The river breaking along the rocks, the surrounding forest, and the distant mountains in the background. This was taken in Yosemite, CA.

Good exposure, but you might want to think about moving the cathedral off center or taking the image straight on for symmetry. Also, the tree, back of the car, and especially the power lines detract from the image. Try moving your location to avoid this detritus.

This picture was simply taken in a polyclinic building in a relatively low light environment. Which resulted in a smoky and nostalgic feeling of the past. I like this picture as it is the first picture which I really took a lot of thought into composing it.

I really like the composition but would suggest a little cropping … think the rule of thirds. There is a lot more space above the person and his feet are nearly cut off. It sort of looks like he has no where to go … if you can give him space in front of this feet that would make it more interest.

Very cool scene. The horizon appears to not be level and it seems that the detail in the burned areas of the tree has been clipped. Also, have you played around with different corps, maybe moving the tree a bit more away from center?

I love this photo I took because I feel like it captures Cleo so perfectly – her long, white whiskers and even her scarred eye she got, before we adopted her. I know nothing about photography, so I don’t know the technical term, but I love how she is in focus with the blurry lit christmas tree in the background.

Her eyes are in great sharp focus and you really captured the love in them. I would crop out the furniture on the right and crop a little off the top so that her beautiful eyes and whiskers would be the center of your attention as soon as you look at the picture. Good job!

There is a really short movie on this link created using time lapse photography as well as one photo using an extremely slow shutter speed that makes my Son’s moving train appear to be a glowing light that encompasses the entire track. I love these to because they are really the first time I have started to seriously experiment with my camera.

It’s such an extremely long exposure, that you don’t get the sense of what the glowing thing is that’s circling the tree. Perhaps a faster shutter speed would reveal some detail of the train while still showing its motion.

This is a picture of one of my best friends who I was one a road trip with. This is my favorite picture because I feel like its the first one I have taken that accurately portrays a person personality .

I just started taking photos with my new Pentax K-50, and this is my favorite so far.http://imgur.com/gallery/ZcS3X47/new
I won’t link to my bad ones, but I managed to take group of really bad pictures…on AUTO!!!

This snap of the Sydney Opera House was my favourite because I wanted to get the steps from an angle which doesn’t make the picture look too dull and i found that angle in this picture. Also, the tripod i had to use was broken, yet I managed to get this picture without being blurry as it was shot in low light. Please comment on things i could improve at. Cheers.

Lotus garden from Century Park in Shanghai, China. I like this picture just because I love the way the garden was done. The bridge is man-made, and I don’t know how much of the pond that houses the lotus garden is man-made, but it is made to look natural. I really just love the thick, rich greenery of the parks I took in the time we lived in China.

I really like the contrast of the black on blue. The little bit of red in its tail also adds a pop of colour. I’m kind of struggling with the angle the photo was taken at, although I suppose it reflects how we humans really see birds up in trees.

The first image is of a rose. I really like how I captured the water droplets.
The second image is of a field/barn… I think the light gives it almost a sepia tone and everything is a little blurry. I also like how not one part stands out, they all seem to mesh together.
The last image is of a dandylion ready to have its seeds scattered by the wind. Its location on top of a cliff makes it appear large in contrast to its actual size. It makes me think of being strong.

I really like your first two pictures – I think it would have been nice to have a little more focus on the water droplets in the first one, but I think the second does a fantastic job of capturing the heat of the setting summer sun. Nice work!

I enjoy this photo because of the soft light coming from behind that travels through the glass & water down to the table in front of it. I chose B&W because when shooting the only light was coming from a window in the distance on a rainy/snowy day, so I think it really sets the mood.

I like this picture because the subject is crude (my friend taking a pee-don’t worry, it’s safe for work) while the background is quite majestic. This was shot on film on my uncle’s old Canon that he handed down to me. I think it was from the first roll I shot on that camera and the pictures came out much better than I expected.

This was the first picture I thought about when I read the assignment. I love this picture because it was candid. The couple in the picture were dancing at a wedding and they turned to me at the perfect moment smiling naturally. I couldn’t get that picture if I tried. Originally, it was a very under exposed picture, but i was able to brighten it a bit.

I think what I like most of this picture (and taking pictures in general) is how it seems to stop time. As if you could steal away that second, and own it forever. Don’t have much experience, but I recently got a camera. Greetings to everyone from Monterrey, Mexico! C:

This is a picture of my dog. I took it using my dad’s old 35mm camera and had the film scanned so the image didn’t turn out as high quality as the prints but I still really like it. I like the shallow depth of field and the way she is centered in the frame. I realize that this probably means more to me than other people because it has sentimental value but I really like it!

This is my favorite because it brings out the beauty of something that on the surface doesn’t look very beautiful. Bugs are intricate, delicate and beautiful creatures if you look closely. https://flic.kr/p/sbySQy

Well, I like this photo because it was an unexpected thing. We were going to a small community, and there were some animals on the road. Dad suddenly stopped and said “take a picture of it!”, and since I’m a beginner and I know he loves animal pictures, I tried to do my best to get a good photo for him. That’s why I like it, because I think I could get a good photo for my dad.

I know this is not a great picture, but I took it last week and it was the very first time I took the camera off of Automatic. The mug is very meaningful to me. I just started reading about photography and camera settings and am excited about learning more.https://goo.gl/photos/eYuLmj9vWyyE1ufo7

I love the contrast between the blue and orange in the upper left corner of the picture. I think the lower right corner is a bit bland, so maybe you could crop it a little to give more focus to the brilliant reflection in the water.

I just really loved this place when I visited. I thought that I captured this photo when the lighting was unique, there were a lot of purples in the sky. It came out very grainy for some reason, but I actually think this adds to the picture, not takes away.

I like this photo because it captured the atmosphere of Sukothai just after sunrise very nicely. It was still quiet and peaceful, before the tourist groups arrived.
I like the colours which add a mystical aura to this old ruin temple city. I also like the clearly distinguishable reflection of the chedi in the water and the water lilies in the front. The 1/3 – 2/3 composition also works well in this image.

I took this with my phone during my trip to Taiwan. I like it because it did a good job of everything my eye was seeing. Most of the time, the pictures I take don’t fully capture the majesty of what I’m seeing and I think this picture did a decent job of including everything I found beautiful about my hike. The sheer size of the mountains, the waterfalls, and the cute bridge.

To date, of all the pictures I’ve ever taken, this one is my favourite (though it was taken over 6 years ago). I like it for a variety of reasons. First, because I typically do not take pictures of people, and this one turned out really well, in my opinion; second, because of how the composition worked with the baby in the foreground, the child in the midground, and the eye following along to the background where the family altar to the ancestors is. It just works for me on both a picture level, and also an emotional level.

Back in 2010, we had some major flooding and, since I couldn’t get to work that day, I decided to take my wife’s camera and get some images of the devastation. This was a guy surveying his property. Not only can you sense his anxiety by his posture, but it’s literally written on his shirt. I like how the shallow depth of field subtly isolated the subject from the surroundings.

https://flic.kr/p/xLfaQw
I’ve recently really enjoyed dabbling in food photography. I have a small little fabric light box set up in my classroom and students get to have their dishes photograph to emphasize the needs to plate presentation. This photo seems to have presence and an impact. I’m not sure why exactly, the contrast of the plate against the granite and symmetry, maybe.

I took this photo earlier this year while hiking an unrestored portion of the Great Wall of China. I love this photo because I managed to capture the vivid colours and rustic nature of the wall and surrounding areas.

I took this photo earlier this year while hiking an unrestored portion of the Great Wall of China. I love this photo because I managed to capture the vivid colours and rustic nature of the wall and surrounding areas.

I had asked my dad to just sit so I could get a few test shots for a family portrait I was trying to take later in the day. By accident, I rather captured my quintessential father in one photo. His expression, posture, the fact he is holding his newspaper, it’s all him. I don’t think it’s my best photo, but it’s my favorite.

Really like this photo, congrats! I like the composition: putting your dad off-centre to the left, and not making him the entire focus of the picture, but also giving space to the rest. Makes him seem small and large (the way he sits in the chair gives him a regal air) at the same time. The very ‘dad on a sunday reading the paper’ outfit makes him seem a bit like a doofus but the look in his eyes and the way he sits in the chair gives him a very patriarch-like appearance. Like all dads: a combination of lame dad-jokes and sage wisdom :).

I love this photo because it turns a picture of some clouds into something abstract and big: a volcano eruption, nuclear bomb testing. Coupled with the mountains gives it a grandiose, apocalyptic air. I also love the mood of the picture in black and white: mysterious and a bit scary.

Love the fact that endless things can be interpreted to what is occurring in this photo. The black and white allows it to become more simplistic and allow for the endless interpretations. Only thing is that the bottom half is a tad dark and makes it difficult to see the terrain.

This was when I first received my camera, and was visiting family. Was out picking vegetables, and saw the beautiful sunset. I took the opportunity, laid down in the grass, and took this picture. I like this photo because of its vibrant glow, and awesome scenery.

Love taking food photos, and when I know that I took a good photo is when I feel hungry again for the food that I just finished hours ago (even when I’m full). Also when you think you can smell the food from the photo, that’s also when I know that I did a good job. Did my photo make you hungry yet?

Love taking food photos, and when I know that I took a good photo is when I feel hungry again for the food that I just finished hours ago (even when I’m full). Also when you think you can smell the food from the photo, that’s also when I know that I did a good job. Did my photo make you hungry yet?

I took this photo years ago when I was on a cross country road trip for my job at the time. I really wanted to pull over because the sky was so beautiful at sunset. The colors were just amazing but I wasn’t driving and my coworker didn’t want to stop, so this is the best picture I could capture from the passenger seat driving 75 mph down the interstate.

This picture is really nice! Props to you for taking it from a moving car!!1 Only thing i would change in post production would be to maybe increase the lighting in the bottom part of the picture…But hey, im no pro…just my two cents

Not necessarily the best photo I’ve ever taken, but it’s a recent photo and one that I like. I just wish I had had more than my iphone with me when it was taken. I like it for the context the fisheye angle the mirror provides of our neigborhood, and of course for the big smiles my daughter and I have. I also rarely process in B/W but I like the composition here.

I really like this photo a lot! It’s definitely not something I would expect out of a (iphone?) I can’t tell what your reflection is on, but I like the circular contrast to the background. Also, I like the contrast of your funny faces to the more serious (almost gloomy background). I wonder what the photo would have looked like if you had more serious faces to go with the calmness of the background.

It was kind of hard for me to pick one of my favorite photos. I would say the Spain trip I went on last summer helped me create some of the best photos I’ve taken. I’m not religious AT all, but I really liked this photo because of the sunlight coming through the church, it almost feels like god is shining his light on the church (like I said I’m not religious). I also liked how the leaves framed the church.

I really like this photo. It’s kind of got that “abstract art, spur of the moment” feel to it, but it has a really nice effect. I like how the sun illuminates the leaves without washing them out, and I very much agree with your sentiment that the sun coming through the church looks really neat.

In was a conscious decision to try and take that shot at my brother-in-law’s wedding showing the table layout and flip flops for the ladies in the background with a little bit of bokeh. Still figuring out my DSLR, but most of the other good photos I’ve taken are landscape shots with an automatic which just happened to turn out well even though they probably are better to look at.

I really like the shallow depth of field and the interesting background in the right half of you photo.
But I feel like you are showing a bit too much… I don’t really know what to look at because it all looks a bit cluttered. On the other hand, there is a bit too much of empty space in the bottom right part of the photo. Also, the back of the B is not exactly aligned to the whole shot, another thing that I don’t like too much.

All of these points are just my personal opinion, maybe someone else will like the photo just because of some of these things. If you agree with some of my points, you could try to “fix them” by cropping. Here is an example crop I did (I hope you don’t mind) http://i.imgur.com/utCg7av.jpg

This image was taken well over a decade ago when I was part of a youth group at a then-local church. It is a picture of a young lady who at various points in my life have been something like a girlfriend, a very close confidant, a “sister from another mister” and, as of now, estranged. I don’t know what I did to get this picture- as I recall, it was taken with an old Olympus model my stepdad (an amateurish professionalish photographer)- but I wish I knew. It was a stormy day, and the clouds had just cleared a bit, with the wind still kicking up. I had brought my camera to take pictures of all the youth group kids that day, for a website for a college web design program. I don’t know, this picture is just still the one I am really proud of, the way the subject is almost perfectly clear except for a bit of flash in the eye, the way the background has its own fade going on without me really trying any kind of selective focus, and just overall I find the color to be quite good (the picture isn’t white-washed, she’s just that white).
I don’t know. I think everyone has a pic they are proud of that others would disagree on. This one is mine.http://ohacy.tripod.com/Pictures/02010112000028.JPG

I love this picture because the scene around the focus point (in my mind the No Admittance sign ) only adds to the whole picture. It feels like it’s… lined up properly as well.

This is a shot of Hobbiton in New Zealand. I was lucky to get away on a business trip to get to view the movie set. I took a lot of pictures with a basic point on shoot Samsung but very happy the way this turned out.

This is fantastic! I only wish the top of the hobbit home hadn’t been cut off…it leaves a bit to be desired. I do, however, love the vividness of the colors and how the gate looks like it’s slightly ajar.

This is one of my favorite pictures taken recently. In terms of technicality it probably isn’t the cleanest picture, but just an awesome scene. Also has sentimental value of some great memories that were captured on the mountain with my wife.

First of all, so glad to have found this site. I’ve been an avid ameature photographer since before I can remember and just finally got my first “real” camera (real as in, an actual DSLR) for Christmas. Most of the photos I’ve taken have been using old, very basic, digital cameras or iphones. This one I took using an iphone 4 or 5 (can’t remember) during a roadtrip in Ireland in 2012. I cropped it and slightly enhanced the colors because I put it on Instagram (unfortunately the original is somewhere on a hard drive I can’t access right now). I really like it for a few reasons: the position of the sheep and how he seems to be looking right at the camera, and the contrast of the sheep with the windblown look of the background. Of the hundreds and hundreds of photos I’ve taken over the years, for some reason, I always come back to this one as my favorite!

Took this in Lisbon, Portugal. I like the strong colours of the sky, the trees and the ruined buildings. The layers of the dirty abandoned buildings up to the higher modern buildings is interesting too. Also enjoy the patterns of the clouds.

This is one of the first photos I ever took. One of my best friends is the man in the picture and I think the lighting gives a good effect of how little the building (corning tower- Albany, NY) can make you feel.

I took this photo when some friends and I were messing around in San Fran. I really like the composition as well as the color contrast between my friends wearing black/grey’s and the bright pink.

This is the photo that got me seriously interested in photography, primarily because it’s one of our favorite photos from that day and I took it on my iPhone while we were shooting with a DSLR. Definitely shows that it’s the photographer not the camera 🙂

I feel like I could have framed it a little better by getting the bottom right corner of the wall aligned with the bottom right corner of the frame.

I took this picture when I was 15. I like this picture because it catches so many of the peoples emotions without actually being able to see their faces. And because it was all candid, I didn’t know the kid and I think I was just photographing the sunset and caught him there. It reminds me of the shores of where I grew up on, and how I grew up playing on the beach in the sunset every summer. I love the reflections in the water.

Yeah, it could’ve been centered and more contrasted. It could have been taken much better. But hey, that’s what I’m hear to learn!

Nice silhouette. Thanks for sharing. Do you remember any of the technical details: camera, settings, etc? First thing I thought when I saw this photo is that it might have been taken with a Lomo (http://shop.lomography.com/en/cameras).

This is a picture that I took while on a road trip, back in 2005. I like that it’s a simple scene – just a few trees – but that swoosh of light was unexpected and I like the effect it had on the scene.

I took this photo of Tvindefossen Waterfall in Norway on a trip a few months ago. I was just driving down the road, looked to my left and saw this. I pulled over immediately and pulled out my little point and shoot camera. I love how massive the waterfall looks next to the homes – it’s so powerful looking.

This photo also signifies my transition from becoming someone who just took photos of things to remember them and someone who wants to learn HOW to take photos of things.

Your photography really captures the size of the waterfall in comparison to the homes. It’s amazing to see! I also really enjoy the colors: the red of some of the homes and the green surrounding them. I wonder, if, in this case, perhaps framing the photograph with no sky, and more waterfall, might show its immensity even more?
Thanks for sharing such a beautiful scene.

I took this picture in Fuchu-shi, Japan. Only I can say: that cold and nostalgic day the natural perfection make my day, from the tropical country flower to temperate country, like flashback all good moments back to you, not by imagine if not for the simple fact to watch it…. https://www.flickr.com/photos/139741655@N04/

I’m not sure this is the best photo I’ve taken, but it’s the first really good photo I took with my Leica M8 and it reminds me of everything I love about rangefinder photography and street photography specifically.

This was taken with an iPhone before I bought my camera. I love how the colors are separated: red brick on one side, green whatever on the other, brown on the bottom, and blue sky on top. I think I accidentally framed the building really well. And I love the ghost signs because they represent the slow decay of the neighborhood (Kensington, Philadelphia) over the years.

I also love the colors and depth of field in your photograph. I feel the colors are actually a little more muted than what I would often think of as fall colors (vibrant oranges, yellows, and reds with deep browns), but these colors in combination with the high quality of detail and all the shapes make it really fun to go back and look at the photograph again and again. Beautiful work!

This photograph shows a fleeting moment last summer. I took it while I was jogging around the rice paddies in my neighborhood. I love how rice paddies reflect the sky when they are in the beginning stages of growth. It feels a little like living in another world.

This is one of my favorites images, due to the all the vein details captured in the rose & leaves. The color effects, I choose simply because I loved the rich, although unrealistic, colors and that it made the veins pop even more. The actual image was a pale lavender color. I hope you like it!

http://i.imgur.com/Sh9ju6d.jpg
this is my favourite pic cuz, the colours pop and go very well with each other and i also think that the water droplet on the flower adds a very good touch to the picture. hope u find it interesting!

Until starting this class, I’ve never really paid attention to the “structure” or “art” of my pictures so it was pretty difficult to find my “best” photo. I can’t say it’s my best one, but I do like the composition of this one : https://www.flickr.com/photos/141194386@N06/26576811074/in/dateposted-public/ . The sun beating up in Manhattan and hiding a part of the bridge wire along with the sidewalk for pedestrians is really appealing to me. We’ll see where it goes from here..!

I like this photo because of how the trees reflect off of the river and the fog rises up off of the water. I also like the tree and brush in the foreground of the picture. The light blue and orange colors of the morning are calming to me.

I took this last week in Nicaragua. It is THE picture that made me go, “I want to do this for real”. The rowboat was probably a half mile from me on the empty beach and I thought that it and the volcano behind it would make an interesting photo, so I made my friends wait as I trudged over. I’m rather proud of myself for seeing it and knowing it would be a good shot. Maybe not the best, but the one I’m most proud of, certainly.

You should be proud of your shot it is beautiful, I love how the foreground really pops against the water and then your eyes travel to the volcano way in the distance. It is a great photo, keep shooting!

https://www.flickr.com/photos/144224123@N02/shares/1z11AD I know this isn’t a breathtaking landscape or beautiful portrait, but it is one of my favorites because well I love my pets, and also I caught him at eye level just being himself. Also, the lighting was really nice for the shot and I was able to sort of incorporate the rule of thirds. I took this when we were outside last week on a very sunny day and Buster was soaking up the sun 🙂

https://flic.kr/p/AayHHb Hi, I’m just starting the course, this is my favourite photo. It sums up the quiet solitude you can get when you’re 250 meters above Tokyo. I also like that he’s wearing a hat which makes for a cool silhouette.

There’s something very intriguing about this photo. With little shown about the subject other than the distinctive hat and camera phone, there’s a lot left unexplained and it seems to pull the viewer (or at least me) in. Cool shallow depth of field with the city blurred and the slight halo of light around the subject. Well done!

Hey, I really liked your photo. You picked a great subject and kept it nice and simple. The only suggestions I have are that the image quality could improve (I know it was only taken from mobile so that’s fine), and that you should try to fully include/exclude the other objects in the photo that are just on the edge of the photo, it can distract the viewer. I’m referring to the flags on the right, and the car/people’s heads on the bottom.

http://www.viewbug.com/photo/62456801
I am a newbie to the course and photography. I love/enjoy photographing nature due to its mystery, in my opinion. You never know what it’s going to throw at you plus you don’t have to ask it to pose; it’s always posing and waiting to be capture. Waves are amazing and intriguing.

Captured this amazing view on an afternoon bike ride. I think this image really shows beauty of a spring day up in the Pacific North West. A few details help to bring character and life to the shot; the wild flowers in full bloom, white puffy clouds in the sky, the large tree stump being reclaimed by new growth, and a few little trail gnomes hanging out at the trail fork.

That’s a spectacular photo! Makes you want to spread you arms out and take in the buoyant feeling of freedom. Sorry about the nitpicking, but if the path continued into the distance, this pic would have been just perfect.

I always was interested in photography but just recently got the nerve to start doing it. The next photo (http://imgur.com/a/qb00C) was taken when I was walking downtown and I found this awesome curb that was long enough to create the illusion of never ending. I took the photo with my phone and I couldn’t get the center exactly where I wanted but I still like it.

I have really enjoyed taking pictures since I was about 12 years old (I’m 16 now), and when I got an iPhone 4s back in 2014, I eventually mastered using its camera. iPhone cameras are awesome, just as long as there isn’t too much movement from the subject. One of the best pictures that I’ve ever taken is of a parakeet. I really like it because the focus, in my opinion, was just right, and I love the detail of the feathers. 🙂 https://bb8nerd.files.wordpress.com/2016/08/img_8978sm.jpg

I am quite proud of this photo I took some time back. What I’ve captured is essentially the sun beaming down on a lake catching my shadow standing over a bridge. This was taken when the sun was right above me and so the shadows do justice to the actual shapes of the bodies that cast it (Me with my camera and the nearby trees).

This is pretty, but I wish that there was more visual interest in the center of the photo – like, everything is either happening on the very bottom of the very side of the image. The “rule of thirds” is a thing I try (& often fail) to keep in mind!

This is a picture that I took in Mount Rainier. It wasn’t with a DSLR but with my phone. I like the picture because of the beautiful landscape. Also, I was surprised my phone could take such a beautiful pictures

This is a picture that I took with my phone, before I got a fancier camera. I like it because it really captures his concentration and emotion, and I also like how the light operates in the picture to focus on certain areas, and draw attention away from the background

This shot has long been my favorite, unedited and taken on a Galaxy S3 years ago, it still is extremely beautiful. I love the haziness of the clouds and the silhouettes of my friend and his dog, to me it is a timeless photo.

Hey this is really fantastic looking. The way the wave is coming up on shore looks really nice against the clouds, and the fact that there are only a few colors really adds a lot of mood. I love the silhouette of your friend and his dog with the footprints behind them, definitely gives off a sense of adventure.

This has been the favorite of all the photos I’ve ever taken. While not perfect by any means, i’ve always liked the framing and composition of the sun, water, trees, and campsite. The depth of field could be done a little better, but I was REALLY new to this camera and just learning how to use a digital camera in general. Looking to get my first D-SLR in the coming months, and this seemed like a great place to gain some understanding before I make my purchase.

Here’s a photo that I took on my smartphone while waiting for a train during a recent trip to Japan. The whole station was completely empty except for us, and I really think that this picture captures that, despite not being able to see anything else (not sure what was with the bag sitting on the chair, but I thought it added some kind of story element to the shot). I think it’s interesting to look at because even though the subject matter is simple, there are lots of criss-crossing patterns from the chairs, shadows, and widow panes. Let me know what you think!

I took this phone with my iPhone 6s+ earlier this week. I like this image a lot, despite the focus being pretty bad. It’s probably because I was zoomed in. But I like the elements of the light, and the effect it has on the grass and on the tree to the right. The sky is an element of the picture even though it’s dark, and that contrast looks really cool. I also enjoy the pitch-black trees behind the light post.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/146164175@N08/
Here’s a photo that i took on my Canon EOS 20D. I like this picture because of the color contrast between the bright yellow leaves and the dark gravel. Fall is almost my favorite season so i love everything about it. Don’t judge if it is really bad haha I am just starting.

https://flic.kr/p/NHT9T6
I have many that I love and a couple that I would consider favorites but this one I took just for myself. It didn’t matter if I am the only one who loves it. I took it on a Sony Cyber Shot laying on my bed in a hotel room. It’s now poster sized and hangs in my office. I always have an open door view of the ocean.

I love this photo! To me it shows the divide between staying inside and all of the promising adventure that awaits outside your doorstep – something a lot of our society has lost these days. The contrast between the two thoughts is awesome. Great photograph and thanks for sharing!

What I like about this photo is the color and the fact that one woman has two cameras in her hand. She is really getting captured three times at this moment. Their clothes are fantastic and the water behind them just brings in some great depth and coolness.

I like this photo a lot! The color are very nice – the yellow shawl and red jackets… There is a lot going on in both the foreground and background, but the two girls still clearly stand out, also because they are in focus while the water is slightly blurred.

I really like this photo, because of the contrast between the mass of formal soldiers and the lone casual tourist blocking their path. The blue and pink stools carried by the soldiers make it kind of surreal. Also, Mao’s portrait in the background makes it easy to situate the photo.

This was a lucky shot made with the all-auto setting. After this I hope to make photos knowing what I’m doing.

This is a picture of me with a friend when we were visiting Rome. It shows us beeing goofy and having fun near the Coliseum. What I love about is that you can see it in our eyes that we are enjoying ourselves and having fun!

Got a Sony a5000 for Christmas this year. It has been a lot of fun figuring it out and looking for good lighting and angles to shoot. This is a picture of my recently broken lacrosse stick from my college years. The detail in the tattered and weathered strings really came out well in my opinion. I had a lot of good and challenging times with this stick and the frayed string and broken plastic is a testament to that.

I tinkered around with the after effects a little on an app I just found the other day called polarr.

I like this photo because it somehow emanates curiosity. A young boy looking ahead to the things that are about to come, an adult lookint at his feet, at the things that are already happening, and a not quite senior pointing to things that he already took part in!

This is my favorite photo I have taken. I used an iPhone 4 to take this in upstate NY. I think this is my favorite photo due to the fact that it captures the beautiful winter environment and foggy morning so accurately while also portraying the bitterness of the cold with the leafless tree.

This is one of my favorite recent photos I’ve taken. It was my last week in California and I finally ended up in Big Sur after a failed attempt during a forest fire. Although it was wet and there were rock slides, I was able to get to an area to take this shot. It was also the first time I really tried my DSLR on one of my hikes.

I lost access to my instagram account, and I can’t save the images, so I apologize in advance for having to link to an instagram page. Not my intention. They don’t let you save photos apparently off of the webpage.

I like making small things appear big, or in this case, making something seem human, maybe. I have no idea what my vision is! I just like this photo because I’m having an intimate moment with a grasshopper, that or he/she is terrified. I wasn’t using a DSLR at the time. But I am ready to start learning as mine arrives tomorrow. I will probably start by taking photos of things around my house, then maybe take my daughter to a wildlife park and see what we find there!

I chose this photo because it is while it is just a simple photograph of my friend Alan, there’s so much more going on in the foreground and background. Plus there’s a certain duality of light with the right half of the photo darker than the left.

Zeek, I love your picture, because it looks awesome. It reeminds me something. Nostalgia. O Vice City game cover. Thats not a bad thing. Maybe because of purple and summer looks. Dont like it because, you can see edge of a window corner.http://oi65.tinypic.com/fxgjo8.jpg I Like my picture, because it was took from my room window. On a shinny winter’s day and it’s looks fulfilled.

This is my favourite one; It’s my son playing bass guitar. I added a bunch of dark filters to make it more “emotive” (I really enjoy the b/w) but is his passion in the expression of his face that astonish me.http://imgur.com/a/1aCtg

I really like this photo, it is super, like you describe. What did you do to the bookeh/focus? Because that seems off somewhat. Top left / botterm right is sharp, but top right/bottem left is blurred. This makes the photo a bit unnatural to me, but otherwise great.

Last year I took a month long trip to Europe. My final stop was in Barcelona, which is where this was taken. There are a few reasons why I enjoy the photo: (1) I’m very new to photography, and as the trip progressed, I also noticed a progression in my photo composition – I feel this photo reflects that (when comparing to my photos 30 days prior); (2) I think it captures the vibe of the street I was staying on – not too busy, not too quiet, with a mix of retail (the bike shop in the foreground, for example) and housing; (3) finally, it simply reminds me of the trip.

I took this picture when I was in new york walking from hotel to metro. I like it because it was a beautiful scene in real life. The lighting/haze was very beautiful. I like it because it shows the tranquility of the suburb with the big city looming in the background. The lignup is perfect with the empire state building.
I also hate it because it feels somehow boring and needs to be ‘better’. It lacks action/focus. The contrast/lighting etc. could be improved.

In the everyday life, thoughts jumble about all sorts of uncertainties in life. I like this picture because it gives away nothing about the hazardous life rather it presents the vast skies with thousands of wings flying with freedom.

This is from a camping trip in Southern California. I like how it shows a sense of adventure and exploration through a land concealed by fog. I also think the trees on either side frame the photo nicely.

Hi EE, i really like your picture. I think it reminds us how small we are confronted to nature and that even in the fog you can always find beauty, if you know how to find a good point of view.
Nice work. Thank you :).

I have 2, I recently took pictures of the kids for Mother’s Day at my church. My friend was outside with me and her 1 year old son was with her eating a lollipop. Once I was done taking his photos he was walking around and exploring and I was just calling him and trying to get him to smile at me but I ended up just getting him looking up at me with his sucker. I loved how they came out because it was so natural and in the moment that it became my favorite photos. I was so happy with them that I even dabbled with some editing.

I like the feel of the photo on the right. There’s something about the the child’s captivating looking into the camera that connects with me. However, I find myself always being drawn to the top left corner where the reflection of the plant/pot is in the mirror. It’s a distracting component to me.

http://i.imgur.com/mocKavf.jpg I like this one. I was following around these birds for a while trying to get a good shot in focus. I like the way the bird is standing with it’s body pointed towards me, but head looking off. I also like that the bird and tree is in focus, with the background blurred making the bird kind of pop!

This is an amazing photograph! I think it could be cropped closer and maybe add a slight vignette to increase focus on the subject. What kind of lens/how far away were you? Do you know what kind of bird this is?

I don’t really have a favorite picture that I’ve taken but here’s one of the many I took on my Europe trip with the camera I bought before leaving. I took this one in Nice, France. I really like how the muted colors of the ocean and clouds go with the sunset. I also like how the dudes fishing in the foreground give the picture a subject.

I really like this photograph. It almost seems like a watercolor with the pastel peach and yellow sky. The poles breaking the horizon gives it a great very subtle disconnect between the foreground and background too. Really cool.

This is the first photo I ever took that I was actually impressed with afterward. Every photo I had taken before (and many since) were just pictures. This one felt like something more. This was taken about 10 years ago when I was in Luxor. I was on a boat on the Nile River and the sun was setting and the sky lit up like it was on fire. The colors aren’t edited at all, this was just what it looked like. I love the sail mast intersecting the sun and creating the silhouette. Despite the really bold colors, there is something super relaxing (to me anyway) about this photo.

Glad to see there are still people like me who are a little late to the party.

I find your picture relaxing as well. I think that the black silhouettes of the boat and trees/mountain in the background work really well with the intensity of the sky and sun. The colors really blend around the sun and the black water with the reflection of the sun through it gives the picture an interesting look.

I’m pretty new to photography but I do have a pretty recent picture I consider my favorite. Its of my dog Brad who passed away in late February of 2017 . The lighting is not as good as I would like (I wish his eye color and left side of his face was a little more visible) but its still my favorite picture because I feel that I was able to capture a bit of his personality in the photo.

What a goode boye!I personally like the colors in the photo, as well as the personality that shows through. The only constructive criticism is that the split in the background (pillows vs wall) is kind of distracting. Great photo!

The photo I am most proud of was taken at a street food vendor in Penang, Malaysia. I really enjoyed the mood, as well as the general composition. The photo was taken on a Canon Rebel XTi with a 50mm fixed lens. I did some post editing with Affinity Photo.

I took this photo on the second to last day of my (almost) 4 month Pacific Crest Trail thru hike last year, although it was a posed self portrait I love it because it represents exactly how I felt at the time, raw, strong and like I was right on the edge of something magnificent. I captured through this the heart of my thru hike and when I look at this picture now it brings all those memories back to me – which for me is why I take photos.

Love the photo, you can definitely feel the sense of accomplishment. Im only new to photography but I feel like the out of focus rock that your camera is sitting on should be cropped out as it kind of distracts from the rest of this great shot, but just my personal preference.

I took this photo on my way home from work one evening out near cooking lake Alberta. I literally stopped on the side of the highway and even though i only had my iPhone 5s I couldn’t pass on this photo. The panorama might be a little choppy but I love the contrast of colours within this photo as the sun struggles to maintain its light as the nearing storm front rolls in. Made me feel like there was a battle going on in the sky.

My mom has some roses growing on the side of our house. I was outside with my puppy early one morning and saw the morning dew on it. It looked really pretty, so I ran inside and grabbed my camera. Its my favorite picture of all time because I captured it’s beautiful morning essence in its prime. I really tried to do the thing where the flower is in focus and the background is blurred.

http://imgur.com/DsrfYnL
This is my cat, my mom named her Pikachu. I love my cat because she always follow me everywhere when i was at home. The reason i choose her photos because i love her, i want to share it through the photo about how cute she is. I think she knows camera because when i begin to take a shoot, she didn’t move much and trying to pose for the photo.

I took this picture about a year ago in the forest near my house. I like it because it has action in it. I also like the way the background complements the movement of the snails. The picture tells the story, it has different shapes and sizes that work together. I also love how green this photo is.

I like that the color of the snails helps distinguish the photo and allows you to focus on them directly. If they were brown or a passive color I think they would’ve been lost in the photo. Love that the background is blurred and is a general color allowing the foreground to be sharp and present.

I took this picture of my husband on our anniversary trip in Jaipur ,India.
I like this place a lot and had a great time there.
This picture has shadowy effect in back and little brighter on face.
I like natural light effect giving lighter and darker tone.

I love the contrasting directions of the straight lines throughout this photo. I especially love the way that the upper-right wall lines up perfectly with its shadow through the rest of the picture. The lighting on your husband also looks great in contrast to the shadowed background (which frames him nicely, in the middle part of the back wall by the way). But for some reason, I get the feeling that this picture wants to lean a little bit to the left, as if it’s unbalanced slightly.

I was on a climb of Mt. Shuksan and we ran into a whiteout once we were above the tree line. I started drinking water and adding salts to keep from cramping but was about two minutes too late and had to wait for a bit. This was one of my climb leaders.

I know there isn’t much to see in the picture, but I like the candid photo of him and the conditions we were in. He thought he was out of the frame, which I consider the best part as he was just enjoying the climb. I think given the whiteout allowed the color and contrast of his clothing and gear to show bright without having to utilize varied settings.

I like this photo for the same reasons you mention. It seems like a completely candid photo of him and he looks so relaxed, and at the same time you have the completely white background, which almost makes it look like it was taken in a studio.

This is a picture I took on a trip last fall. I love the colours of the norwegian fall, and the bright red T that marks the paths in the area. It also gives me a feeling of looking forward to the road a head and whatever is lurking beyond the next bend in the path.

I like the focus of the rock with the “T”, and that the trail allows your eyes to follow the picture into the background. I do think that the pine tree to the right is a bit intrusive since it just has a few branches in the picture.

This was taken on my old Samsung Galaxy SIII about 5 years ago in Northern California, before I even considered taking photography up as a hobby. It’s probably riddled with technical flaws that I wouldn’t even begin to know where to start identifying… but it’s still probably my favorite. I had an edited version somewhere, but I’ve uploaded the unedited file.

I think the contrast looks nice, it flows from left to right (like scenes in cinema are supposed to, if I remember right), and the limited amount of color helps bring attention to the subject of the photo (the rock). But that’s not entirely why I like it.

Now, you don’t have to read anything below this, it’s my own highly subjective interpretation of the photo, and my reasoning for why I was drawn to this rock in the first place. But if you’re interested…

This is gonna sound totally artsy-fartsy “looking too deep for meaning where there is none”, but I wanted to take this picture because I sympathized with the rock.

In a literal sense, the rock sits there for countless years, getting used by birds. They fly over, and land on top of the rock to rest for a moment, then, without warning, they s*** on it and fly away. This rock has obviously been s*** on many many times for a long long time.

Okay, plug your nose, here comes the artsy-fartsy:

Put yourself in the rock’s shoes, and think of the birds as romantic interests. Like the 60’s/70’s slang, even, where “birds” meant “females”. The rock, with years and years of stains from being s*** on all the time by birds, kind of stands as a metaphor for a heartbroken soul.

I wanted the picture to be read from left to right. The rock is huge in the photo, with a dark and depressing presence. To the right, you see birds flying freely and carelessly around it, paying no attention to the lonely rock. The ocean blends with the sky (which was accidental and unintended, but kind of worked out I think), and carries the presence of the birds into a kind of “endless sea” type of feel, sort of implying that there will always be birds to land on, and s*** on the rock, sealing the rock’s depressing fate. And to the very right of the photo, you can see another rock, lonely, covered in bird s***, indicating that the subject’s depressing life is unfortunately not a single unique case.

But in the end, it’s really just a picture of a rock with some poo on it lol

The way you edited out all color in your photo, except for the green moss, impressed me. That technique astounds me because I am just learning how to do that myself. I attempted to try it on a colorful picture and it turned out differently than I intended. I plan to practice my skills to become as talented as you are in terms of photography.

I like the photo because of the drastic contrasts you get between the green of the moss and algea on the rocks against the grey of the rocks and the blue-grey of the water. The thing that does stick out to me though is just the completely flat white sky. I don’t know what type of weather was in the sky but if there were rolling clouds or something in the sky to break up such a flat background, it could add some texture to the background that might help the rock and the moss stand out even more!

This is my photo I took about three years ago. The saturation of colors on the chocolate rappers and how they blend together appears interesting to me. The composition of the picture may confuse people since the only edits I made consisted of distorting the colors. I took a picture through a mirror. The first photo that viewers notice on this page see a similar photo through reflective sunglasses. When I, the viewer, look at the photograph, the first place my eyes travel is to the reflection in the mirror where the Chocolate store sits.

I’ve chosen this picture, well frankly, because when I look at it I don’t always believe I took it. It’s a photograph of French raspberry macarons that were baked. There’s something about the colours in the photo that relate to the light and airy texture of the food. Overall, it is currently one of my favourite photos.

I love this photo because it takes me back to that morning sitting next to my husband bundled up in sweaters and blankets with slippers on our feet waiting for the sun to rise. I often liked to go on sunrise missions while I was single to welcome in the new day and show my gratitude towards being alive. To be able to do it with my life partner is the greatest feeling for me.

I like the way you used the tree to cover up the sun, it gives it a nice effect. The tree in the right of the picture is cut in the middle, cropping it out could give a neater edge to the photo. Overall I like the picture and it is nice when a photo has a story!

This is one of my favourite photos i’ve taken so far. I had just learnt how to do long exposures and just purchased my first tripod. I love being outdoors and I went off the beaten track to get this shot. I love the composition, I feel like the photo makes you feel as though you are right there in the rainforest.

I didn’t have lightroom at the time so all the editing was done in my windows photo editor.

Hello everyone, this is my favorite picture i ever took . This represents the ability of cameras to perceive what the eye can not. When you have a camera in your hand, you have the aptitude to transform the reality in your own vision of it and above all, you can choose the unit of time corresponding at one moment of life. During this time, the camera records the scene with your setting, but you’re still doing some modifications like the focus or the zoom or even move the camera. That all this picure is about, photography allows us to play with the perception of life.

Hi this is one of my favorite photos. I took back in 2014 with a then almost ten year old camera. The reason for it to be one of my favorites is that it was captured right when the subject looked back towards the camera, the eye is sharp, the light puts emphasis on some of the down and the background is slightly out of focus.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/151666450@N07/?
This photo was taken with my i phone, 3 years ago in Walhalla, Regensburg (Germany). The term “Walhalla” is connected with the Scandinavian mythology and means “heaven”. I love this photo because it is so tranquil and peaceful.

I could look at this photo all day. It’s easy on the eyes and the staircase looks like it’s never ending. I love the angle it is taken at. The picture seems simplistic as well….not too many things going on in the picture.

I really like the depth of this picture. There is a instagram I follow called depthobsessed and most of their pictures have leading lines similar to this. I feel like this really draws you into the photo when there it feels like there is a depth to them.

I took this last month, right after I walked outside. I was waiting for the light and noticed a cute person with a cute dog in their backpack. I love how colorful their hair and headphones are. I took this around sunset so the light is warm and soft, and I like how the backpack’s shadows make it look really touchable and 3D. I like it a little better in black and white (the dog’s eyes look a little crazed in color). I think the cars in the background are distracting.

The focus is really good. The dog is so sharp and the light illuminates it nicely! You’ve captured the moment perfectly with an interesting subject (both the person and the dog). The background is what you would expect from street photography so not really bothered by the cars..

This is taken a few weeks ago of my girlfriend Mary! We have just started using her DSLR.
I like the photo because of the 3 subjects – Mary, the colourful road signs and the somber Abbotsford convent building in the background. The little Easter Egg is that Saint Mary is pointing the right, however she’s being called to the left.. 😉

Having lunch on Staten Island during a holiday in New York with my family. They sat on the bench while I went into the shade. when I looked out at the view, I a scene which I thought it would make a nice photo and it did.

While you captured an nice moment, I don’t really like the composition of the picture. I personally think I would have liked it better if the bench were positioned a little more to the right side and lower in the picture.

I have been taking photos since I bought an instamatic in the early 70’s but have only recently discovered photography recently. I was at the Hellfire Club, which overlooks Dublin, yesterday. The Hellfire Club offers wonderful views of Dublin and Dublin Bay especially on a clear sunny day. Yesterday was very hazy but I got a few good photos, especially this one.
This is possibly my best photo. I think the presence of the boy looking out at the view makes a much more interesting photo than the view alone. I think the wall, part of the Hellfire Club, adds to the overall image

I really like the depth in the picture but to me the sky seems a little blown out and the background a little hazy. I struggle with the same thing and I am hoping to figure out what is the best way to fix it.

I just took this picture this last weekend and I feel like it is my best picture yet. I do not have a neutral density filter yet but was lucky enough that this creek was running through a very shaded area so I was able to manipulate the settings and take a longer exposure shot. Around 2 seconds I think.

I took this picture right outside the Capitol Building in Washington, DC. I’m not a photographer, but I’ve always enjoyed taking pictures. I want to start learning how to take beautiful pictures that I will appreciate. I liked this picture as i didn’t use any fancy settings yet it appears to be a pseudo-professional picture, especially they way the background is blurred. I think the foreground colors of the flower can stick out more, but it’s all good!

I took this picture in New York city on vacation and I’ve always liked the composition and the textures. The yellow sunset inbetween the arch of the bridge adds a nice contrast between the cool colors of all the skyscrapers in the city.
The cable webbing in front of the building adds a layer that I always found interesting as well.

I took this photo at a park a few days ago while trying to photograph birds flying. I considered this shot one of the many failures on first glance, but while revising the shots I paid closer attention and I absolutely loved it. To me, it is relaxing and well balanced.

I took this photo in my backyard a few days ago. Compared to other photos I have taken of the same rose I like this one the best because the background just disappears and leaves you alone with the rose. This photo feels quite calm to me.

I took this shot in Monument Valley, UT in August 2017. It’s such a grand and beautiful place that it makes taking great pictures quite easy. I enjoy this shot because it captures the vastness of this area as well as the desert vibe that makes this part of the USA so infamous.

The picture in the link was taken with a point and shoot several years ago in a small town in Friesland, in the Netherlands. It was absolutely silent out along the canal and there was mist coming off the water. I was a little disappointed the sunrise didn’t come out better, but I still love the picture.

This picture is nice. The photo looks like it could be from anytime in the last 30 years. The windmill looks great, and I like the reflections in the water. I feel the same way about the sunrise…it looks like it could have been a better photo had more light shown through.

I love this photo for the colors, blowing water, lines and reflections. I had just been introduced to the idea of looking for shadows and reflections when shooting. These were also some of the most intense colors I had been able to capture up to that point.

The colors are crazy! I like that the ground is wet and the red tint is splattered everywhere. The waves look nice, and the almost complete darkness on the left makes the contrast really fun. Great photo.

I like this picture because the door looks like it enters into another world within the ruins. I love the blue sky, and the earthly colors on the stones. The doorway also appears to be larger than it actually is which makes it more powerful.

I haven’t taken very many quality photos hence why I would like to start this course. Here is one I took five years ago on a hike. I like it because honestly it was probably the only one that came out clear, but more constructively, I like it because the sun setting creates a mellow vibe to the photo. The blue sky and beige hill have good contrast. Also, this photo has a funny illusion, it seems like a small hill at first but once you see how small the tress are at the bottom it appears much larger to the eye.

This is my favorite picture of my dog Pixel. We were camping for the weekend and this was his first time out. I really enjoyed how happy he was to be outside and being around us. He has been my best friend since i picked him up. It might not be the best picture i have ever taken but this guy has been amazing to have around and this picture just shows how happy he is.

This is my favorite picture, it was a song sparrow that I had come across while walking along the beach. I loved the texture of the driftwood and the contrast with the richer colors of the sparrow. This photo somewhat inspired me to drag my camera out along with me on every walk I took, a chance encounter or a particle perspective could instantly become a shot worth taking. It helped inspire me to keep my camera with me on every walk, because you never know when you find a shot worth taking.

This photo sums up how I felt less than a year ago after retiring from a 50-year broadcasting career. Don’t get me wrong; I loved my job but, well, there’s nothing like ‘freedom’! And that’s why we celebrated the event at the Grand Canyon. It just seemed like the right place to go at this stage of our lives. We weren’t disappointed. And, it seemed like the subject of the photo had been placed in front of my lines by some kind of divine intervention. LOL. It was a perfect reflection of how I felt!

A year ago, i started to get some interest in night photography and bought a new lens for this purpose. Below is my first shot and although i knew that i have to learn much more i m proud of the outcome.

A year ago, i started to get some interest in night photography and bought a new lens for this purpose. Below is my first shot and although i knew that i have to learn much more i m proud of the outcome.

This might not be my absolute favorite, but I do love it. This was taken on my iPhone rather than my dSLR.
The photo is of a specific species of lichen that grows on sea rocks. I like that it pulls into focus something that is usually so easy to walk past.

Nice photo. But if you like it because symmetricality I think would be even better, if you had make one-two steps to the left. I think you were not standing exactly in the centre of the temple. You can see it on the wall, it is falling from left side of the photo to the right. 🙂

I wonder if it would be even better if you cropped in closer? For me, I tend to get lost in the big gap between the trees and cannot understand the focal point. The colours of the banners? are too good to shoot from far away. Speaking of banners, The one you are using overhead is great! Colourful, full of texture and the suggestion of movement

https://flic.kr/p/ATk4fF I like this photo of Vancouver skyline after sunset. I like it because it is one of few photos I prepared myself. I was reading about capturing nice city photos, about blue hour, and I like it also, because I edited it nicely in lightroom. I hate doing photo editing, usually I screw the photo because too much editing, but this one end up well. 🙂 And I like the colors, the place, and also I did like that part of my life when the photo was taken.

The mountains are well defined. I can see why you liked the colours of the lichen. it might have been good to get a sense of depth. What camera were you using for these pics and why do you want a new one? That is, what do you intend to shoot with the new one?
Cheers

The top part of the picture conveys the mood of a nice warm summer day. The shadows at the top of the church portray a sense of the warmth and breeze of a nice summer day where you just want to laze around. The palm trees right next to it are nicely juxtaposed and the dark color complements well with the light color of the building.

Picture taken on East Side of NYC on an evening walk around sunset. I like this picture because I think the ripples of the water are well framed against the tall structured buildings. It gives me a sense of “all is well in the world”